Published : 2 years ago, on 22/03/2023

MILAN (Reuters) – Carmaker Stellantis said on Wednesday it would invest 130 million euros ($140 million) in its Eisenach assembly plant in Germany to produce a new battery electric vehicle (BEV) there from the second half of next year.

The new BEV vehicle will be the successor to the Opel Grandland compact SUV currently produced in Eisenach, the automaker said in a statement.

It will be based on the ‘STLA Medium’ platform, one of the four platforms that will underpin all Stellantis’ new models starting from next year.

“Adding a BEV to Eisenach’s output supports Opel’s bold commitment to a fully electric product lineup by 2028 in Europe,” Stellantis said.

Current production at the facility also includes plug-in hybrid versions of the Opel Grandland.

Stellantis, the world’s third-largest automotive group by sales, wants 100% of its European passenger car sales and 50% of its U.S. passenger car and light-duty truck sales to be battery electric vehicles by 2030. Its other brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Jeep,

The Eisenach plant, in the German state of Thuringia, was opened in 1992, when Opel was part of General Motors. As of 2022 it has produced a total of 3.7 million vehicles, Stellantis said.

($1 = 0.9271 euros)

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Keith Weir)